We 'officially' start homeschooling our littlest one tomorrow when our other two go back to school. Unofficially, we did a few plans last week so I could see how things were going to go and how often she would need a break. This is my daughter who has had a really rough time at school. She has had numerous stomach aches, nausea, vomiting before school, diarrhea during and after school and lethargy (usually falling asleep on the way home from school and not waking until the next day). Christmas break has been blissful. Very few stomach aches although she does have some 'tummy problems' a couple of times a week. Still, nothing like what we've been through. Academically, she has met all the requirements for first grade other than attendance. Our state has little to no reporting requirements. Grade-wise, she was a straight A student (almost perfect 100's in all subjects). She enjoys learning. I want a very relaxed schedule, almost unschooling but not really. I'd like to do math and reading daily (as long as she feels okay) and then do the other subjects based on how she's feeling and what she wants to do. She's very excited about all of it and I'm a bit concerned that she'll try to over-do it. Any thoughts on homeschooling a stressed out child? I'm hoping that her days of stress will be lessening and we're trying to build her self-confidence back up. On a side note, we had a wonderful time at our neighbor's house tonight. He called to tell us that his daughter/son in law were visiting and had brought their telescope. They have a VERY ($$$'s) nice one. The girls and I went over - we were able to see the craters on the moon, track Jupiter and see it's bands and several of it's moons and some other thing (I can't remember it at the moment) that was basically a big grayish-purplish bubbling gas. We came back home and had a great time reading up on the planets we saw. He's offered to give us a tour of the university's planetarium (he's a professor) which is incredibly kind and very exciting. They will be bringing their telescope back when the weather is warmer. We have a telescope as well, but it's nothing like what they had. I'm fortunate to be near such generous people.

Just don't use tapioca starch. :glare: It turns it into a runny mess! I've always used plain white rice flour. I've also used corn starch. I never really follow a recipe for white sauce, just kind of gauge it. Don't be afraid to adjust until the texture is right for you. :)

I would love to include my littlest (7 yrs old) in this as well please! I have been worrying about V-day since she is just now coming home.

Do you have a local children's theatre or some other group that would force her to speak up? I started my daughter in theatre for the same reason - mumbling and shyness. We just started her third year in children's theatre and she landed a small part - four sentences and one line in a song. :) She's over the moon delighted. I think theatre really helped her come out of her shell.

I'm going to try to make her a new circle of friends and we're pushing for her to be homeschooled next year (providing I don't utterly fail with my youngest this year! ;) ). She's fairly envious of all the cool stuff that's been delivered in the past month and I've shown her some of the programs for kids her age that she would use if we homeschool. She wavers back and forth. I'd rather her make the decision (although we will if we need to). The girls she hangs out with do things like pull the waistband on their skirts higher or roll the top (elastic) a couple of times to make it shorter. I've told my daughter that it just makes girls look silly and showed her how it looks in the mirror - not cool at all. Other things the parents just buy and I don't get it. My daughter looks nice and trendy. Our deal is that she can pick out her clothes and even if I'm not crazy about them, as long as she looks presentable then it's fine. If she starts altering them at school, then I will pick out her clothes. She's a bit afraid (with good reason I'm sad to say) of my clothing choices. I'm waiting for soccer season. She has a couple of friends who play soccer and one is another girl who homeschools. Maybe I can discreetly change her preferences. Glad to know I'm not completely a fuddy-duddy. ;)

Other than soccer, they are in mostly the same activities - cheerleading, children's theatre, school academic groups. She hasn't made any friends in karate, but she does have a couple of friends in soccer who are not in the same group.We live in a small town - she will be in classes with these friends for quite some time. We are thinking about homeschooling her next year. She is interested but we haven't made a final decision yet. Next year is middle school and I anticipate things will go either really well for her or really awful due to the friend situation. Just as a side-note, we do not allow inappropriate clothing, dating, etc. We live in an area where many girls do not graduate from high school and marriage at a young age is common. I want better for her. As a PP mentioned, if they start dating at 10, I worry about pregnancy at a young age as well.

I was a late bloomer so I'm struggling a bit here. My 10 yr old is in 4th grade and has several friends. She's in the 'cheerleader clique' (not sure how else to describe it). It's beginning to be a bit cut-throat. Some days the girls aren't talking to one of the group, but by lunch it has turned around. My daughter doesn't seem to 'get' the arguments. She will tell me about them but because it's so puzzling to her (the drama), it doesn't seem to upset her. (I'm not sure if this is because she's a bit immature for her age or if she has some aspergerish tendencies that prevent her from seeing the whole picture). The other moms of these girls are super-nice, we all get along well. But, I'm starting to see a disturbing trend with the other girls. Their shirts are becoming off the shoulder and skirts are as short as they can get without the school sending them home. The other moms say that their daughters are insisting on the clothing. They also are dating - some have been dating for the past year. The dates mostly consist of going to their 'boyfriends' houses, holding hands and watching movies. Sometimes the parents drive the two kids to the movies and sit elsewhere in the theatre. They go to dances (hosted by the parents) and facebook. When I ask the other moms about it, they laugh and say that the kids are growing up. They seem proud about the dates. Am I behind the times? I wasn't even interested in boys when I was 10 yrs old. She says that she's 'not really' that interested in boys, but I worry that being around other girls who are dating will get her interested. What are 10 yr old's doing these days?

We use Pamela's baking mix and make a large batch of pancakes that we keep in the refrigerator. Then we simply microwave in the mornings. We also cook bacon that way. (You could also pre-cook sausage or keep ham in the refrigerator). Scrambling eggs doesn't take long (we put cheese in ours). Gluten free oatmeal or grits (for those not watching their grains). There are also gluten free cereals that taste good. Add milk, juice or fresh fruit and nuts on the side. We have also made french toast with gluten free bread and kept it in the refrigerator. The quality is not as good as freshly-made but it's still really good to our girls.

I'm the parent of a daughter with Celiac. She has severe reactions. We basically quit going to anyone's house for the holidays. This year I relented and let her go to my mother's house for a few hours. My mother was so excited and pulled a bag of pre-cooked gluten free cupcakes out of the freezer. She grabbed the wrong bag. My daughter missed three sets of relatives stopping by to visit due to throwing up violently (splashing onto the walls and into the vents) and horrible diarrhea. To make it worse, the cupcakes were red velvet. The dye made the experience even more traumatic as she looked like she was bleeding everywhere. Otherwise, our holidays are good now. I am teaching my daughter (or I hope I am) that family is more important than food. Rather than drag her to houses where she can't eat (or eats the wrong stuff), I invite people to my house for a completely gluten free meal (including dessert) and I refuse any offers for them to bring food (unless it's sealed and stamped 'gluten free'). I did a huge Thanksgiving dinner. For Christmas, I offered up chili with gluten free cornbread and crackers along with some appetizers and dessert. I'm also teaching her how to cook. My hope is that she will continue to 'host' holiday dinners that take her health (and others) into consideration. It's easy to become depressed when you have a condition that limits food. So much of our life is centered around celebrations and get-togethers that include food. We're trying to change that by having family parties at our house. Or, we go and visit AFTER they have finished eating. I think if the adult lives the attitude, a child will pick up on it and have a similar attitude. I'm not positive about that, but it's my hope. :)

Yep. :) No animals other than a border collie and a cat here. However, the neighbors (use the word loosely, lots of acreage between houses) are shooting off old ammunition today, despite warnings from the sheriff's dept that what goes up will come down.

I was thinking the same thing. We don't seem to have good luck with our family genes. :) We wanted a huge family but decided that we should stick to our three and provide the therapy, medical needs, diets and home modifications that are needed. If God intends for us to have another, it will happen. We'd love to adopt or at least foster when our two younger are a bit older. (Our oldest will live with us until she moves into assisted living).

One other thing, if you start out with new routines, it might be best if you do baby steps. Otherwise things become overwhelming. I've taken a white board and placed it on the fridge. Under each child's name I started out with one chore - make your bed. I'm in the kitchen a lot so I had lots of time to see it which reminded me to ask them. For the first few days, I caught them at meal times and told them they couldn't eat dinner until they made their bed (even if it was night-time). Then I added another and started remembering myself to double-check earlier. We are now at four chores per person and I'm starting to add heavier things - laundry for example. Baby steps help me. Also, baby steps would help your husband see that you are trying. It might helps things out. All the best :)

A friend of mine used to carpool her teen-age daughter and her friends to soccer a great deal. They would listen to music with some questionable songs on the cd's. My friend hated the music but the teens would roll their eyes if she asked if they could change it. She solved it by learning the lyrics to the songs and making sure to belt out the more questionable ones loudly. Her daughter was mortified and the music was quickly changed. :) Mine are still at a manageable age. Here, it's saying 'alsome' for aweome. Not sure why. I simply told her that she would use words properly in our household and to save the slang for her friends.

Sounds great! I would try to have a neighbor or relative 'on call' in case of emergencies (broken arms, etc) and to check in daily.

I think that if your older teens are in their rooms and simply have trouble sleeping, that it's not a big deal for them to be up and down a bit. HOWEVER, I would insist upon a typical waking time and make them stick to it. It may seem cruel but at some point, they will be expected to hold down a job and their employer will not be sympathetic to insomnia excuses. They need to learn how to lose sleep and still function. For your little ones who share a room and have trouble bed hopping, playing, telling stories, etc. ;) Ask one of the older ones to sit in their room and read while the little ones go to bed. Or do it yourself for a few nights. I had to do this about two months to get the habit set. We would read a story together and then it would be bedtime. I usually sat in the doorway so I could have a light to read by. There would be NO talking. They would ask a question and if it was important, I would answer briefly and remind them no talking. Typically, I would tell them to hush, it was bedtime and we could talk about it tomorrow. If you definitely want to not be disturbed after 10:00, tell your teen-agers that at night, sometimes you and your husband want some privacy (and then give them a big wink). Chances are good that your kids will be afraid to venture out of their rooms. ;)

We have it separately as a meal and not as a soup. We're having pork loin (my understanding is it must be a pork product, not necessarily ham), black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread. :) We don't call it Hoppin' John though. I grew up with a different version of hoppin' john. It's basically a pile of peas, topped with chopped up bacon with tomato and onions on top. You eat it with cornbread cooked in the shape of a pancake (I love my cornbread like this and cook it this way frequently). It tastes like a 'country' style taco almost. :) And of course, plenty of sweet tea. :)

I don't think that 'lights out' at 10 pm is unreasonable to be honest. Now, we have a different schedule and our kids are younger. My 10 yr old goes to bed at 8:30 and my 7 year old goes to bed at 8:00. My 12 yr old has autism and has her own schedule that I don't interfere with. She wants to be in bed by 8:00 and prefers to be in her room by 7:30. Can you teach the older kids to put the younger ones to bed? Both my girls are able to get my 12 yr old into pajamas, brush teeth, wash off (or take a bath) when she starts heading into her room. If the older ones can do that, that would relieve some of the pressure of putting so many to bed. Something that I have my 10 yr old do is to settle down for bed by reading. My 7 yr old doesn't go to bed easily unless the 10 yr old is also going to bed. So, my 10 yr old reads for the last half hour in their room. My 7 yr old is comfortable that her sister is near and goes to sleep happily. Good luck with everything :)

Did he sit on anything unusual? My oldest gets weird rashes at times. The ones on her legs come from sitting on newly mowed grass. Also, for a while we were using the stuff you sprinkle on carpets and then vacuum it up to make the room smell nice. That would break her out in a rash where she touched it.

:iagree: Aspie's don't necessarily need to be a genius to receive a diagnosis. That's a myth along the lines that kids with autism have a special "talent" that is genius - autistic savant type thing. :) I would encourage you to see a psychiatrist/psychologist, or at least get another opinion. This isn't a slam on your pediatrician by the way. Pediatricians are supposed to diagnose ear infections and strep, etc. They aren't really qualified to diagnose autism. My pediatrician (whom I adore) has often made statements that turned out to not be true after a referral to a specialist. All the best. :)

Can't never could. :)

This may have already been asked, but how sensitive are his feet? Does he walk barefoot in grass, pavement, sand, gravel, etc? My oldest has autism and is like a cat at touching new 'foot experiences'. :) She will touch gingerly with her feet until she is comfortable with the feel. She was a toe walker for quite a while. She was suspected of having cp in addition to autism. I know several people who hand flap as a means of excitement. The sensory issues would throw up a flag, but considering that he seems to do well, I'd think more along the lines of aspergers. We suspect our middle daughter to have aspergers, but haven't sought any type of diagnosis (not necessary at this point). She has a lot of sensory issues - no tags, hates seams in her socks, etc. She is also very literal. It takes a lot of explaining for her to get common sense stuff. Intellectually, she is very, very bright. She's also very artistic. But emotionally, she is a bit less mature than her peers. I would explore a possible physical problem for the toe walking, read The Out of Sync Child and look into aspergers. Good luck :)

My oldest has autism and needs a variety of services. I fight hard to get her the best services possible in our district. She's in a good place (mentally and physically) and happy. She goes to public school. My middle daughter is very social - lots of friends, straight A's, gifted program, lots of extra activities - she enjoys school. I do not think the school is 'good enough' for her in terms of challenging her, but she does extra math at home and I hope to supplement other things next school year. That said, she's been looking enviously at the boxes of items that have arrived for our youngest and has said that she MAY want to be homeschooled next year. ;) I would pull her in a heartbeat if I saw her attitude changing and she's at 'the age' where we watch her carefully. My youngest has been ill this year. Lots of stomach aches, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, lethargy, etc. Her teacher told the class that they were an embarrassment and just a bunch of bad kids which my daughter internalized. She referred to herself as a 'bad kid' for a couple of months which drove me a bit nuts. (She's shy, loves to read, great grades, etc). I spoke to the teacher who changed things enough so that if she referred to the class as bad, she immediately corrected it to say "except for so and so". Then there were 'teacher's pet' type comments, etc. She was afraid to let the teacher know when she had to go to the bathroom and due to the diarrhea, would come home with soiled underwear. (She said the teacher has 'scary days' and sometimes she told the kids not to talk to her). I explored every avenue for the stomach aches - diets, medications and a biopsy. The gastro finally suggested school stress and we made the decision to pull her at Christmas. Her symptoms seem to be improving, so we're hoping for the best. (For the record, her teacher seemed to be nice, just overwhelmed and upset at having to work after just having had a baby. She had no sleep, etc. I am not excusing her actions, but she seemed genuinely upset after I explained how upsetting her words were to my daughter.)

Earlier this year, our area was hit with some nasty tornadoes. We had tornadoes on either side of our home (we live in the country with lots of acreage between houses). A few miles in both directions (on our road) completely destroyed homes and left paths of broken trees that is still a sad reminder. Miraculously, not even a potted plant tipped over at our house. Two days later, I decided to drive into town to pick up some milk. I was feeling isolated because cell phones weren't working although we had kept electricity. Our small town (with one large and two small stores) was out of electricity. Something I had never, ever considered was the fact that there might not be food in our town. All refrigerated and frozen items were gone. Instant items - bread, tuna fish and potted meat - were also gone. I went back home feeling ashamed for not being more grateful. The closest 'food' was an hour away in only one direction (the other direction was hit harder). It was the closest I had ever been to seeing what could happen if things go bad and it was a bit sobering. I keep a fully stocked pantry of dry goods and an extra freezer of items (chest freezer that would keep frozen longer).

I found that book at our drugstore. I bought it for my 10 yr old when she was 8 yrs old. I hope things get better for both of you!

Natural treatments do carry some risk as well. They won't be discussed as much because those who try it typically do so and hide it from their doctors. (I'm not saying that you do that or would do that, but I've seen many many parents do so.) I encourage you to discuss any natural treatments with your doctor. Even if they think it won't do any good, you just need to know if it can be harmful to your child if you try it. Some of the treatments still require kidney/liver testing. That said, I don't know of any natural treatments for depression. I do notice that my daughter's anxiety becomes extreme during the winter months and we tested for levels of Vit D (she was deficient). (Interestingly, every parent I know who has a child with autism who tested for Vit D deficiency was found to have a deficiency - these tests were ran through our pediatrician's office). We give Vit D supplements and it has helped her problems during the winter.